Areas of Growth
Despite any difficulties, there is still plenty of commerce and trending items. Like most other areas, consumers are looking for quick, healthy meals and better-for-you foods. “We’ve noticed continued growth in the fresh-cut departments,” agrees Staples, “with more and more customers looking for convenience items when shopping.”
Vitrano acknowledges the trend, but has seen fluctuating sales. “It seems like fresh-cut demand has slowed down a little on our end—it could just be because we’re on the terminal market.” The better news is there is also an uptick in Asian vegetables, which he says, “have picked up over the last year.”
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRODUCE MARKET MANAGERS
Rose Harrell is well known around the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market as the deputy director of the Maryland Food Center Authority, but she also holds another office: she is serving her third term as president of the National Association of Produce Market Managers (NAPMM).
“While the association was originally intended for wholesale produce market managers,” Harrell says, it has evolved over the years as the markets changed. With the addition of retail and/or farmers’ markets sections at many locations, the NAPMM’s ranks has expanded to over 110 members in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
So what does the NAPMM do for produce suppliers? Its official mission is twofold: “to provide resources, leadership development, and networking opportunities for permanent retail, wholesale, and public market professionals” and to help vendors succeed on “a local, regional, and national level.”
The NAPMM holds meetings each spring at a member market, which includes educational sessions and a tour of the host market. One of Harrell’s goals is “to revitalize the association and members by encouraging more involvement as well as opening communication between the board of directors and membership throughout the year, rather than just at annual meetings.”
Harrell too weighed in on the growing popularity of value-added selections and higher demand for ethnic and specialty items and the Center’s ability to capitalize on these trends. “Our Market businesses have become more diverse in supplying Asian fruits and vegetables.”
Staples concurs: “There’s been significant growth within this group over the past year as consumers are becoming more aware of the versatility of Asian vegetables.” He also believes demand for fresh-cut products could one day eclipse bulk or whole fruit or vegetable purchases altogether.
And while a number of vendors acknowledge the enduring popularity of tomatoes, some might be surprised that multicolored cherry tomatoes are at the top of the Market’s bestseller list. For Staples and Lancaster Foods, however, “Cauliflower and brussels sprouts have nudged ahead as the new darlings of the vegetable world.”
And have these ‘new darlings’ managed to eclipse even kale, the produce trendsetter for the last few years? Though kale sales are still good, Vitrano says the super vegetable has “probably leveled off a little bit on our end”—but says local chefs are the ones to ask about the ongoing kale phenomenon.
